University releases first report updating framework for HR
When the University of British Columbia (UBC) decided to launch an institution-wide human resources framework, it set out strategies and initiatives to build a workplace that resonates with staff. The result: Focus on People.
“The idea behind developing the Focus on People framework was to focus our creativity and energy on a few things and do them well,” said Lisa Castle, associate vice-president of human resources at the Vancouver-based school that employs about 9,480 faculty and nearly 9,000 staff.
“Instead of reacting to things coming at us in the human resources arena, we’d have a framework for action that would guide us to a higher-level dialogue about the place we all wanted to stay and a place we all wanted to join.”
After consulting with employees, UBC identified five priorities and all HR initiatives fall within one of these strategies:
• Develop a sustainable, healthy workplace.
• Retain staff and faculty through positive opportunities and incentives.
• Foster leadership and management practices.
• Attract outstanding talent.
• Identify and share institution-wide goals.
Annual report details progress
To mark the first year of what is a five-year initiative, the university released a report with updates on the Focus on People framework. Milestones have included: new managers and department heads enrolled in leadership programs who can transition more seamlessly into new roles; a more efficient online hiring process; better co-ordinated orientation; health and wellness initiatives; volunteering overseas; and an engagement survey.
More than 20 per cent of employees responded to the survey and results were presented at town hall events at UBC’s Vancouver and Okanagan campuses. The survey gave HR a benchmark against which to judge its strategy, but the bar was set fairly high. More than three-quarters (76 per cent) of respondents said they feel proud to work at UBC and 71 per cent said they would recommend it as a good place to work. Overall, UBC’s engagement score is two per cent higher than Mercer’s “What’s Working” benchmark score.
The Focus on People 2008 report also features stories of UBC faculty and staff who illustrate the university’s workplace practices strategies. But UBC didn’t want to create another lifeless corporate document that collected dust on a shelf somewhere.
“We wanted to create a report that would inspire people through stories,” said Castle.
“We didn’t want to do a dry and boring document but instead wanted to get people to read it. So we put in people they could identify with and something that captures their imagination.”
What HR has learned so far
While it doesn’t list facts and figures, that’s not the point. The report contains information about how UBC has started to deliver on all the things it said it would.
“The big lesson we’ve learned through this process is to follow through — write it down, commit to it, resource it, manage it and deliver it,” said Castle.
“We’ve learned that we need to keep our promises and deliver what we say we will.”
The report revealed one thing to Castle — perhaps HR overcommitted at the beginning and tried to do too many things in the first year, which led to some things being delayed.
“We have so much ambition to make the place better and we try to do too many things at once,” said Castle.
“That’s been our single biggest lesson to date. When we make these commitments, unless it’s large and unexpected, you have to stick to the plan.”
UBC isn’t immune from the economic downturn and, as a result, Focus on People might have to narrow its focus in the next couple of years.
“But I still see forward momentum, even if it’s just strengthening what we have in place,” she said.
“We’re on the right path. I don’t think we’ve turned all the faculty and staff into true believers, but there’s interest in believing we can make things better.”
Bringing HR strategies to life
The core of UBC’s Focus on People report is stories from people. Canadian HR Reporter talked to two of the school’s employees to find out how HR programs affect them.
Manpreet Dhillon, manager of business operations for UBC’s Office of Learning Technology, is one of the employees featured in the annual report. She took part in the university’s “leave for change” program, where UBC sends up to six staff members to volunteer overseas. She spent three weeks this spring in Botswana as an HR advisor.
“I got to use skills that I use daily at UBC to act as a consultant for an organization that doesn’t have any human resources staff or policies,” said Dhillon.
“When I returned, I had learned a lot and brought that back to my department. I have also made presentations to my department and to HR networks on campus to share what I learned.”
Another program coming out of Focus on People is a healthy workplace initiative that offers grants to departments to promote health and wellness. Natasha Wheatley, training program co-ordinator for UBC’s Centre for Blood Research, received a grant for her department to subsidize social and health activities such as bowling, yoga classes and boot camp.
“We are a lab with a lot of diverse people working independently, and it can be isolating,” said Wheatley.
“The grant really helps increase our turnout by making our activities affordable. Thanks to our social and fitness events, new people are finding it easier to make friends and others are starting to collaborate on work projects. They wouldn’t have met if not for the social stuff.”
